Waiting on a parcel is its own kind of stress. This week, Customs at Lagos airport told courier companies plainly: deal with the delays that keep imported parcels waiting before they even get to Customs for assessment. Here is the gist — and what it means for the things you need moved around Uyo today.
Send a Local Parcel on WhatsApp AI
What happened
According to a Punch report published on 15 October 2026, the newly deployed Acting Customs Area Controller at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Area Command in Lagos, Deputy Controller of Customs Jacob Onale, went on a familiarisation tour of courier companies and private hangars.
The tour started at Aramex and continued to UPS, FedEx, DHL and NIPOST, then private hangar operators. During the visits, Onale appealed to courier managements to take proactive steps to address the unnecessary delays of imported parcels before they are presented to Customs for assessment, and stressed that compliance helps speed up processing. Courier staff raised operational challenges too — including issues linked to the recently adopted Unified Customs Clearance System, known as B’odogwu — and he pledged to address what he could and refer the rest to headquarters.
In short: the regulator and the couriers both say they want parcels to move faster, and both agree the handoffs in the middle are where time gets lost.
Why Uyo readers should care
Many of us in Akwa Ibom know the feeling — a gadget, a dress, or spare parts ordered from abroad that seems to sit somewhere for days with a status that never changes. International parcels pass through several hands: airline, courier, Customs, then a domestic leg before they reach you. Every one of those handoffs is a chance for a pause.
The lesson from this story is simple and very local: fewer handoffs, clearer tracking, faster delivery. You cannot control an import queue in Lagos. But you can control how fast things move inside your own city.
Inside Uyo, the parcel does not have to wait
A lot of what we “wait for” is actually local: the documents your client needs in Ewet Housing, the cake for your sister in Nwaniba, the phone you left at your aunty’s place, the stock a small business owner needs to drop for a customer near UNIUYO. Those do not need a warehouse or a clearance desk. They need a rider, a pickup point and a drop-off point.
That is what a local parcel on iDeliver does:
- Book in minutes — on WhatsApp or the app, tell us pickup, drop-off and what is moving.
- See the fare before you confirm — no guessing; it is shown on your order.
- Track it live — follow the rider on the map instead of calling every ten minutes.
- Secure handoff — OTP or QR confirmation (when required) so it reaches the right hands.
For small business owners in Uyo who sell on Instagram or WhatsApp, this matters even more. Your customer does not care how many hands a parcel passed through — they only remember whether it arrived when you said it would. Booking the local leg with live tracking means you can send your buyer the link and stop answering “is it on the way?” all afternoon.
Your move today: send it or order it
Here is the concrete step. Pick one thing you have been “meaning to send” across Uyo this week, and book it now:
- Open WhatsApp and message our WhatsApp AI (or open the iDeliver app).
- Choose local parcel, add pickup and drop-off pins with a landmark.
- Confirm the fare, and share the tracking with the person receiving.
Nothing to send? Then let the rider bring something to you instead — order lunch, a grocery restock, a gadget or an “Anything” errand from the same app. At eligible stores, iDeliver Prime gives you free delivery.
The bigger picture
We are glad to see Customs and couriers talking openly about delays — anything that helps imported parcels reach Nigerians faster is good news for everyone who shops online. iDeliver is not part of that Lagos airport process; we focus on moving meals, groceries, gadgets and parcels across your city. And on that leg, waiting is optional.
Open WhatsApp or the iDeliver app now and book that local parcel — or order lunch — today. 📦🛵
Source: Punch, “Customs urges couriers to address parcel delays,” 15 October 2026.
Get started with iDeliver
Download User App
Download Vendor App
Download Driver App
What do you think?
It is nice to know your opinion. Leave a comment.